Restaurant profile: Neighborhood Pizza Café

Energetic owner knows many diners by name

Sep. 14, 2012

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The neighborhood pie, with bacon and chicken, is a hearty pizza.

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Across the I-44 overpass, way north on Glenstone Avenue where it’s officially Missouri H, Neighborhood Pizza Café thrives by drawing hungry people from far and wide.

“At lunchtime, I see a lot of workers — construction guys, the industrial park people,” owner Lisa Parent said. “I get people from as far as Sunshine and 65. It amazes me. I get a lot of people from downtown, City Utilities and the courthouse.”

It must be Parent’s upbeat style and, of course, the food, all made from scratch — not just pizza but also pasta, specialty salads, sandwiches and wraps. She always asks for the customer’s name when they order food, which has enabled her to know her repeat customers by name.

The café has been going strong since 2004, with packed lunch crowds that extend well into the afternoon. It has also won numerous awards over several years of competition in the annual Pizza Bowl, a fundraiser for the Ozarks Literacy Council.

“My intentions when I started were that it would be like eating in the kitchen. I don’t want a fancy restaurant; I want good food.”

Parent served a selection of items from the menu.

Specialty pizzas

Pies come with thick crust or thin and crispy. Prices are $5.69 single, $11.59 medium and $16.25 large. A create-your-own option is available.

Neighborhood Pie: Chicken, bacon, mushroom, tomato and spinach on Alfredo sauce. This one had thin crust, gently crispy. The mushroom and tomato slices stood out for their freshness, and the spinach was a real treat. Bacon with chicken was a winning combination.

Neighborhood casserole ($5.79, or $3.79 for a small portion): Ground beef, meat sauce, pasta shells, Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses in the mix, topped with mozzarella. Cheese! — that was the first impression. Next, the meat sauce had a little sweetness, creating an indulgent comfort food effect.

Pasta supreme ($6.69): Chicken, mushroom, broccoli, tomato, onion and bacon in a light Alfredo sauce. The vegetables had a primavera firmness, and the bacon added body.

Specialty salads

These dishes are $3.49 for a small size, $5.39 for full size.

Chicken oriental salad: Warm chicken, pineapple, oranges, cashews, sunflower seeds and Chinese noodles. The choice of dressing was the house sweet French, but the raspberry vinaigrette also would have been tasty, Parent said. This entrée packed plenty of light citrus flavors and lots of crunch.

Italian salad: Pepperoni, Canadian bacon, tomato, black olive and onion with mozzarella and parmesan. This salad was an antipasto playground, very filling. The dressing was the house creamy Italian.